Elderly woman duped in lottery scam

Published 10:31 am, Friday, January 27, 2012

A 92-year-old California woman believed she had hit the jackpot when a man in Houston called her earlier this year and told her she had won the lottery.

She even mailed checks worth more than $8,000 when the man told her she had to pay taxes on her winnings before she could collect them.

But when she never received her prize money, she became suspicious and called police.

Now, 81-year-old Robert W. Cornell, of Houston, is charged with theft, a felony, according to a complaint filed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Court documents state the woman told investigators she received a telephone call at her home on Sept. 29 from a man who identified himself as Michael Anderson. She said the man told her she had won a lottery but had to pay taxes on the winnings before she could get her prize.

As the man directed her, she told investigators, she sent one check for $5,000 and another for $3,400 to Robert Cornell at 8484 Jason in Houston, according court documents.

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She said the man continued to call her asking for more money, but she became suspicious because she never received her winnings. She called the Sacramento Police Department, which alerted Houston police.

Investigators determined that the woman's checks had been sent to a retirement home. Cornell allegedly cashed them at a Wells Fargo bank on S. Gessner, court documents state.